Cord-and-pulley brake.



No. 692,540. 'Patented Feb.- 4, |902.

n. u. nuaern. conn AND PuLLEY BRAKE.

(Application tiled-May 11. 1901.)

'(No Mdel.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL D. NUGENT, OF HARRISON, NEW JERSEY.

CORD-AND-PULLEY BRAKE.

lSPIECILEICATION `forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 692,540, datedFebruary 4, 1902.

Application inea Mey 17, 1901.

To aZZ whom t nwfyconcern: p

Beit known that I, DANIEL D. NUGENT, a citizen of the United States,residing at 510 Warren street, Harrison, county of Hudson, State of NewJersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements injCord-and-Pulley Brakes, fully described and repre sented in the following1specification and the accompanying drawings,forming a part of the same.g This invention relates to that class of pulleys with which a cord isused to raise and lower a weight and which is provided with a brake tosustain the weight when desired, and which brake may be thrown intoaction at the pleasure of the operator by. the mere manipulation of thecord. Such cords and pulleys are used for governing the movement ofwindow-shades and other structures inl which the weight or resistance islight, andv my invention furnishes a very cheap and effectiveconstruction for such purposes and for any others to which it isadapted. To form such a brake it has been common to pivot a block or camadjacent to the pulley, so as to wedge or crowd against the cord whendesired, and also to pivot cheeks upon the opposite sides of thehousing, with a segmental cover to guide the cord upon the pulley andprovided with teeth or a ridge atthe forward end of the cover to engagethe cord upon the top of the pulley when the cord is crowded against therear endA of the cover. In such construction the teeth or ridge operateto chafe or wear the cord, and the rear end of the cover is liable alsoto chafe and wear the cord if thesarne be drawn out of a vertical linein raising and lowering the weight.

The object of the present inventionis to furnish a pivoted brake-yokewhich will not wear or chafe the cord and which is lnotpprovided with acover which chafes the cord whendrawn from a vertical line. In myconstruction I pivot the yoke below and at one side of the pulley andextend the housing below the pulley sufficiently to receive the pivotpinfor the yoke, thus giving the yoke a long sweep from its pivot to thebrake-shoe near the top of the pulley, which draws the shoe toward thecord with sufficient force to hold it rmly without teeth or ridges. Thecheeks Serial No. 60,690. (No model.)

.of the yoke are connected by the brake-shoe them when the yoke issupported by the stop,

in which space the cord maybe held in any convenient position out of thevertical line when raising and lowering the weight and without chaiingby contact with the yoke. The weight of the yoke is distributed so as tobalance the yoke in its middle position, and its weight therefore holdsit at either side of such position and keeps it clear of the cord orpressed toward the cord, according to its position at one side or theother of the middle.

AThe brake-shoe is thrown into operation upon lowering the weightbyinoving the cord laterally until it touches either of the cheeks abovethe pivot of the yoke, which immediately throws the brake-shoe forwardinto engagement with the cord and cramps the cord firmly upon the top ofthe pulley to sustain the weight.

The invention will be understood by reference to the annexed drawings,in which- Figure 1 is anedge view of thexture, and Fig. 2 a side view,with the nearer wall of the housing cut away and showing the brakedetached from the cord. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but insection at the middle of the pulley, with the cord omitted. Fig. 4 is aperspective view of the yoke detached from the other parts. Fig. 5 is anedge view of the yoke and pulley in their operative relations; and Fig.6 is a view similar to Fig. 2, with the cord gripped by the brake.

a designates the walls of the housing, which support the pivot c of thepulley d and the pivot-pin e of the arched yoke. The housing is shown inFig. l provided with feet b for attachment to any support by means ofscrews and in Fig. 6 with a screw-shank b' for attachment, and its sidewalls are separated sufficiently to admit the cheeks of the yoke as wellas the pulley. clear the walls a sufficiently to insert the side Thesides of the pulley pieces or cheeks f of the arched yoke, so that suchcheeks move or slide freely between the sides of the pulley and thewalls a, and the pivot-pin e of the yoke is arranged below and at oneside of the pulley, so as to pass across the housing, and the movementof the yoke carries the arch gradually toward the cord upon the pulley,as indicated by the dotted curve g in Fig. The brake-shoefis made onlyof suiiicient length to cover the cord upon the top of the pulley, andthus connects only the upper portions of the cheeks f. The brake-shoe isset a little concentric with the pivot e of the yoke, so that theforward corner of the shoe contacts with the stop a', (shown upon thehousing in Figs. 2 and 3,) when the shoe is thrown backward sufficientlyto clear the cord. The brake-shoe when in operation, as shown in Fig. 6,lies chiey at one side of its pivot e, and the cheeksf of the yoke areextended outward from such pivot sufficiently to counterbalance the archportion, and the counterweight is preferably arranged to balance suchportion when the yoke is in its middle position, so that the yoke tendsto retain its place automatically at either side of such position. Thecounterweight thus operates when the brake is removed from the cord tohold it normally away from the same, as shown in Fig. 2, which permitsthe raising and lowering of the weight freely without chafing the cord.

The dotted line c (shown in Fig. 4) indicates the position of a verticalline in relation to the yoke when the yoke is in its middle position,and as the yoke is pivoted below its center of gravity it is in unstableequilibrium when in such position and tends to fall to one side or theother; but a very slight force suffices to move it from one position tothe other. The yoke is thus operated by the slight friction of the cordupon the lateral cheeks, and no pressure of the cord upon the yoke isrequired which would be sufficient to chafe the cord.

The outer edges or cheeks of the yoke lie chiefly above its pivot e, andthe deflecting of the cord laterally from its central position bringsit, as shown in Fig. 1, into contact with one of such cheeks, so thatwhen the weight j is descending the cord pulls the yoke forward, as perarrowl in Fig. 6, and brings the brake into operation. By shifting thecord to the central position and slightly raising the weight the brakeis thrown into its inactive position, as shown in Fig. 2, and is heldagainst the stop by its weight until it is again moved by lthe cord.lVith the yoke in such position the weight can be raised and lowered byholding the cord centrally and without any contact of the cord with theyoke. In lowering the weight quickly the ascending side of the cordbecomes slackened and is flung into contact with the brake-shoe, and asthe yoke is nearly balanced in all positions such contact of the cordoperates to throw the brake forward, and thus instantly brings the brakeinto action. A slower movement is used to lower the weight normally.

The brake-shoe is constructed as shown in Figs. l to et, inclusive, tocooperate with a stop t upon the housing; but any other suitable stopmay be used to hold the brake in its inoperative position, where it willnot chafe the cord in raising and lowering the weight. Arms 7L are shownin Fig. 6 projected from the inner sides of the cheeks to contact withthe axle e of the pulley, and thus limit the outward movement of theyoke and hold the brake-shoe clear from the cord when lowering theweight.

The essential part of the invention is the formation of the cheeks to itbetween the walls of the housing and the pulley and connecting them atthe top only by the brakeshoe f and proportioning the cheeks and theshoe to balance the yoke when in its middle position and providing astop to support the brake in an inoperative position,with the open spacebetween the cheeks entirely clear for the manipulation of the cord atvario us angles from the vertical.- This construction permits theoperator to raise and lower the weight without standing close to thesame, and thus greatly facilitates the use of the device for raising andlowering window-shades and similar articles without standing close tothe shade.

By my construction the yoke is so balanced upon its pivot that thecontact of the cord with the cheeks suffices when the weight is fallingto draw the brake-shoe forward and arrest the descent of the weight.

The lifting of the weight by the cord operates to draw the brakebackward, which throws the yoke out of balance, and the brake isthereafter held by the stop in its inactive position.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what is claimedherein isl. An automatic brake for a pulley-cord, comprising the pulleyd, the housing ct extended downward below the pulley with the transverseaxle c having the pulley fitted thereon with clearance at each Iside ofthe same, the pin e inserted through the housing below the pulley, thearched yoke pivoted upon the pin and fitted between the sides of thepulley and the housing, and the yoke having cheeks f extended backwardlyfrom the pin e and having the arched brake-shoefconnecting only theupper portions of the cheeks, so that the cord may be drawn backwardlybetween the cheeks at various angles Without actuating the brake.

2. An automatic brake for a pulley-cord, comprising the pulley d, thehousing a with the transverse axle having the pulley fitted thereon withclearance at each side of the same, the pin e inserted through thehousing atene side of and below the pulley, the arched yoke pivoted uponthe pin and fitted between the sides of the pulley and the housing, andthe yoke having cheeks f extended backizo same, the pin e insertedthrough the housing at one side of and below the pulley, the arched yokepivoted upon the pin and fitted between the sides of the pulley and thehousing, and balanced in its central position, and having cheeks f withthe eccentric brake-shoe f cou' necting only their upper portions, andthe housing having the stop to support the brakeshoe when clear of theoord,whereby the weight may be raised and lowered without the archedyoke touching the'cord,fand the brake may be thrown intoaction by thelateral movement of the oord; l

n testimony whereof I have hereunto set myhand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

DANIEL D. NUGENT Witnesses: A

CHARLOTTE NUGENT, THOMAS S. CRANE.

